This invention relates broadly to decorative jewelry articles for water related activities. More particularly, my invention relates to buoyant eyeglass retainers, especially adapted for beach use, for holding personal articles such as eye glasses.
As will be appreciated, personal items such as sunglasses, keys, and other beach accessories are easily misplaced, and may be quickly lost if dropped into the water. Unfortunately, conventional beachwear items seldom provide adequate pockets or pouches for conveniently storing such articles. Hence, it is desired to provide comfortable and attractive means for retaining such articles on the wearer's body, and for protecting them from loss in the water.
In the prior art known to me, various eyeglass retainers have been proposed for sportsmen. For example, the headband proposed by Fuller U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,604 issued Jan. 9, 1979, comprises a flexible band which terminates in a pair of tubular ends. The ends slidably engage the temple pieces, so that the eyeglasses are securely retained in position during sports activities and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,696 issued to Winger/Friedopher on Sep. 17, 1985 teaches a tubular, knit cord for retaining eyeglasses about the neck.
A similar device is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,481,946 issued to Pendleton on Sep. 13, 1949. U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,776 issued to Seron on Apr. 1, 1975 teaches a flexible eyeglass retainer which is adjustably coupled to the eyeglass templates by a flexible loop. Bloom, U.S. Pat. No. 2,660,092 issued Nov. 24, 1953 suggests the desirability of providing a flexible, adjustable-width, cushioned headstrap for retaining eyeglasses in position. The strap terminates at both ends in a flexible loop, which is captured by a slidable pin or hook associated with the glasses frame. McCulley U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,861 teaches an earpiece cushion for eyeglasses.
Various structures for floating a pair of glasses are also known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,711,190 issued to Blair on Jan. 16, 1973 comprises a blow-molded air cell which is threaded by resilient loops to the temples of the eyeglasses. Related devices are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,038,375 issued to Gansz on Jun. 12, 1962 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,390,938 issued to Gansz on Jul. 2, 1968. Floatable spectacles are taught by Goodman in U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,124 issued Jun. 19, 1973 and by Wilson in U.S. Pat. No. 3,517,989 issued Jun. 30, 1970.
However, none of the known prior art provides a comfortable, floatable. The prior art known to me fails to adequately provide floatable means for attachment to various common beach items, especially those which are not already provided with a fastening pin, loop, or chain. The floatable retainer disclosed in my previous patent application is particularly well-suited for eyeglasses of ordinary configuration, having a generally straight ear piece. However, it does not contemplate securing very fine wire or wrap-around ear pieces, or retaining other swimmer's articles.
Most importantly, none of the prior art known to me satisfactorily addresses the need for providing a comfortable, attractive device for floatably retaining and thereby preventing the loss of a variety of different beach oriented accessories.